Shadow Detective (2022)

Solid crime drama! Gripping! About an aged, cynical cop struggling in a dark, grim man's world

"Shadow Detective" offers solid crime thriller quality at a high level - gripping, dense, with South Korean Look&Feel!

As a Disney production, the series was produced explicitly for the international streaming audience. Accordingly, within compact 8 episodes the KDrama presents itself rather slim in terms of some characteristic dramaturgical, Korean-style storytelling elements. Nevertheless, a profound script, the committed cast and witty camera manage to create an enormous intensity and three-dimensionality.

"Shadow Detective" takes the audience firmly by the hand. The story does not have to come up with an excess of violence (as is so often the case with international, more masculine orientated streaming productions). I should mention, though, that it's primarily about older men in a man's world - and it's rather dark, grim, cynical.

Against the almost self-evident background of an almost unassailable, corrupt shadow world, the story focuses on the protagonist's inner struggle to do a reasonably good job as a detective despite the ailing system (... and to cope with aging).

Another season has already been announced.

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"Why did you come into my life and make things difficult for me? Why?"

That scene and that line summarize the whole season. This shows us a cinema!

The whole cast is great. A script with quality and top-notch storytelling. The score and pace is everything. Even though it only has 8 episodes, this feels like a 16 long ep-drama for me and its a compliment.

It was really good, hence I recommended you to see it and better if you watch it slowly, don't binge it. Take time to grasp the happenings.

Anyways a great show. Just prepare yourself, for this series uses our brain cells. lol.
And worry not for all questions were answered in S1.

P.S
Excited for season 2!. I see you "No Caller ID". :')

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"In your next life don't be a cop. It doesn't suit us"

For me this drama is definitely going in the same tier as The King of Pigs and Through the Darkness this year. It's actually the first time Disney+ managed to impress me so much, Kudos to them for creating such a carefully intricate investigative drama. I was having a hard time finding another well written thriller with great characters and great production values after those two, but thankfully Shadow Detective delivered. If you're a fan of this genre and of darker storylines then please, do give this one a try.


This is an hard-boiled noir thriller, the plot is complex, the world is gritty, bleak and corrupted and its characters are antiheroes full of regrets who are mourning their loss of innocence, a reflection of the messed up hierarchical system that engulfs South Korea. You really can't trust anyone here. It's not the first drama about corruption inside the police, but this one is more bitter and pessimistic than usual, and imo, more realistic (it actually reminded me of the movie Asura: the City of Madness in terms of emotions and overall atmosphere, but without the gore) since there is no manichean conflict with the rightful incorruptible heroes fighting the evil bad guys that will inevitably lose. Here our anti-heroes are fighting against themselves just as much as they're fighting against the bad guys. It really makes you feel angry toward the characters, but also sorry for them because you understand that in a different, fairer world they wouldn't have become the worst version of themselves.

I really liked the fact that we're seeing the story through the eyes of a veteran detective that has already paid the price for his mistakes and has come to regret his decisions because it makes you appreciate more his inner monologues and the advice that he gives to his younger colleagues: the only thing that matters in life is not being on top, but peace of mind, family and the people we cherish, and how important it is to understand those values before it's too late, because it will indeed come a time when it will be truly too late, why? Because even if other people may be willing to forgive your wrongdoings you still won't be able to forgive yourself, and he knows it better than anyone. Regret is a key world in this story.

It's really sad and poignant how Taek Rok's last advice to his younger colleague and nemesis was to never become a cop in a next life, because they aren't cut for the job. It was sad since it used to be their dream, but after thinking about it, it made sense: in a world where the bad guys are winning and where you can't do anything to change the system, the only way for a good person to remain a good person is to stay away from the system as much as possible. Jin Han tried to change the system, but he was swallowed by it instead. And Taek Rok himself doesn't have the moral high ground to pass judgment on him.

Shadow Detective doesn't focus on the side of the police that pictures the cops as the right hand of justice, but it shows the dirty side of it, the one who falsify the evidences, who works with the local gangsters to do their job and who is entangled with politics. As a consequence, an happy ending felt impossible.


I personally think this drama has great rewatch values because it's easy to miss some details when you watch it the first time, especially when you watch it weekly and quite some time passes between each episode, as the plot is quite complex with many plot threads being connected with each other. There aren't fillers here, there isn't any scene you can skip, it requires your full attention or you'll end up getting lost, but I actually appreciate that it respects the viewers ability to connect the dots on their own. Although complicated it never really felt convoluted to me because it stays away from cheap plot twists added just for shock values to surprise the viewer. Each episode ends with a cliffhanger, but each of them adds something to the plot and has real consequences.

Honorable mention to the ost used for the ending scenes, and to the soundtrack used in general, because it really managed to create that sense of suspense each time. The music was always fitting and added a lot to the atmosphere.

The cinematography was chosen with care too, with its mix of warmer lightings and shadows in the interior scenes that create a moody atmosphere and the bleaker and colder colors used for the scenes on the outside that uses many long shots, often featuring the sea as a silent witness of Taek Rok's thoughts, to emphasize the characters sense of isolation, and it manages to add a cinematic quality to this drama.

For those who are unsure about it because it will have a second season: yes, it ends with a cliffhanger that makes you want to watch the next season immediately (but alas, we'll have to wait a little, at least it's confirmed though). But nope, it's not an unsatisfying ending since it still sheds some light to the main mysteries of the series and manages to give some sense of closure for the main story arc of the season, while also leaving room for speculations and showing that the bigger picture we thought we caught by the end is even bigger than we originally thought.

Don't mind the ratings and give it a go if you're a fan of the genre, or if you're a fan of the actors too because they delivered some great performances here. The chemistry and the bromance between Lee Sung Min and Jin Goo was especially good. While for the former I'm not surprised since I already knew that he was a top tier veteran actor after watching Misaeng (another gem where he stars in and where he gives a fantastic performance), I had some doubts about the latter after that mess that was A Superior Day where he underperformed, but this show truly redeems him in my eyes and now I can't wait to see him in something else. The rest of the cast did a great job as well, even with less screen time. Some are better than others of course, but no one really broke the strong sense of immersion.

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Cautionary Tale of Cops and Corruption

There’s something curiously exhilarating about watching a great premise and an equally great script unfold before your very eyes. Partly because it’s rare, partly because one is caught up in the rarified atmosphere of being witness to something that’s extraordinary. In a year when K dramas have been very hit and miss for me, Shadow Detective happens to be one of those unique television experiences where the story is gripping from start to finish. It’s a timely reminder of what can be achieved when writers respect the intelligence of their audiences and do the laborious work of plotting an intricate story that revolves around highly flawed but sympathetic characters. More than just another garden variety police procedural, the drama is a heartrending cautionary tale that deals with agency, guilt and consequences. Crime shows should be the perfect platform for these kinds of explorations. This show is a triumph in that regard because it puts the focus on the fundamentals such as character development and good storytelling.

The truly wonderful Lee Sung-min is Kim Taek-rok, an ageing cop doing things the hard way in his native Geumo, a bustling port city with serious crime issues. Fortunately for him, retirement is apparently round the corner. Taek-rok is a highly regarded veteran of 3 decades but is still a lowly lieutenant when younger and far less talented men have climbed through the ranks. This is because he doesn’t play the political game and is mainly concerned about doing the grunt work of catching criminals. His work ethic sees him demoted twice and passed over for promotion as he’s known to be something of a maverick within the organization. One night after a bit of pestering he finally meets with a younger colleague, Woo Hyunseok (Kim Tae-hoon) for drinks. They reminisce a little about the old days and Taek-rok presses him to reveal the whereabouts of a crime boss that he’s been “handling” for years under the tacit approval of Geumo’s chief of police Seo Gwang-su. Woo Hyunseok eventually promises to tell all and the two men part ways for the evening in varying states of intoxication. Around the same time, Taek-rok’s been pranked by an anonymous caller who eventually introduces himself as “Friend”. Things turn sinister with “Friend” when he takes responsibility for the untimely death of Woo Hyunseok. To add insult to injury, Taek-rok becomes chief suspect for the homicide and the entire station is on his tail. From that moment, the show’s central cat and mouse game begins.

Johnny-come-lately Kook Jin-han (Jin Goo), is a transplant from Seoul. As he’s about to slip into the role of chief investigation officer, he is greeted with a certain amount of fanfare on his arrival and it doesn’t take long for the cocky newcomer, who also positions himself the “outsider”, to butt heads with Taek-rok. Here the outsider trope is deployed to great effect as it is deftly woven into the trajectories of the non-conformists swimming against the tide of moral decay. Will they make it out alive or drown in the process for all their troubles? A little more wet behind the years is Kyung-chan, who has also recently made his way to Geumo from Seoul because of his admiration of Taek-rok during the latter's brief relocation to Seoul earlier. He is set up to be the overenthusiastic youngster and is positioned at the start as the stereotypical rookie.

The show very quickly establishes the characters and the world that they inhabit. Geumo City follows the template laid down by Batman’s Gotham. Drugs are a widespread problem. Corruption is rife. Over the decades the city has become the playground for a very select group of locals who have their grubby hands on the key levers of power. On the surface it seems little different to hundreds of other K dramas of its kind. But what separates this (and elevates it) from other corruption stories are the depth of the characters here compared to most. No one is truly righteous here and the result is that they all feel like living breathing human beings desperately trying not to sink into the mire of power’s corrupting influence that has them over a barrel. While the cat and mouse device might be the mechanism by which secrets are revealed, its deeper purpose is to showcase competing agendas internal and external to Geumo.

While there are intriguing puzzles that need solving, it is Taek-rok’s relationship with his team mates and fellow cops that makes this riveting viewing. While he himself has obstinately tried to live by his principles (such as they are), he has often turned a blind eye to the corruption that’s around him because longtime friendships are involved. Does that make him culpable for the sin of omission? Well, that’s a question worth hundreds and millions of won. As long as the spotlight is on Taek-rok, the show paints a raw and oftentimes comical portrait of a man possibly at the end of his career. More than once, Taek-rok is told that he is in the wrong profession. That he is too sensitive to be a cop. Indeed the man carries around a large burden of guilt and regrets on those tired shoulders especially where family is concerned.

Needless to say Lee Sung-min is just fantastic as Kim Taek-rok. Last seen in Juvenile Justice as a judge, he completely transforms himself for this role. He wears this perpetual world-weary hunched appearance while the heavy limp-like gait completes the portrait. It’s safe to conclude that all the characters are works of art in this — the show’s secret sauce. Taek-rok’s relationship with Jin-han especially is worth highlighting here because it runs the entire gamut from doubt and uneasy camaraderie to grudging respect. In so many ways despite the age difference these two intelligent but sensitive men are cut from the same cloth.

While the show ends on what could be considered a cliffhanger, this first season does stand on its own, completing an important arc and answering the most pressing questions. It’s a class act all the way in terms of cinematography, editing, storytelling and performances. Hands down, this is easily one of the best things I’ve seen all year.

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To be honest, I watched the Korean drama "Shadow Detective" because I was interested in the acting of the main character, Lee Sung-Min, who played an old police officer, Kim Taek-Rok.
In the Korean drama "Reborn Rich", Lee Sung-Min acted brilliantly as Jin Yang-Cheol, the conglomerate owner of the Soonyang Group. In the drama that takes the story of the Samsung chaebol, Lee Sung-Min successfully gives life to the entire episode.

Likewise with the Korean drama "Shadow Detective". It's as if the audience meets a police detective who, in his old age, has to live in a slum. He also still has to work physically, such as running and fighting.

But that doesn't mean the audience is sorry. Precisely amazed, because with its ability to detect any criminal action. It's a shame that his heart is too kind, so he was deceived by an enemy in a blanket.

The game of facial expressions is Lee Sung-Min's strength. Supported by cinematography, selection of costumes and the number of episodes which are only 8, makes me not hesitate to give the Korean drama "Shadow Detective" an 8/10 rating.

Why not nine? Because there are many holes in the series of stories. Like the video of Woo Hyun-Seok's death, which was suddenly found on a cell phone that was entrusted to the owner of the Mokro Stall. How could a dead person walk around to leave his cell phone?

Even though the world has entered the era of industry 5.0, it seems that such technology does not yet exist.
The next review can be read here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2023/03/review-drama-shadow-detective.html

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Police & Corruption

I am getting to be more and more severe when rating dramas I watch because I keep seeing same plots repeatedly, over and over again.

This one is just the same: a lone cynical policeman waiting for his retirement fights against corrupted organisation that employs him. This is the skeleton of the plot and then they added some substance on it: the cop is been blackmailed by the murderer who eventually turns out to be a Friend.

Even though I'd seen this plot so many times and even though I am so fed up with eternal corrupted and rotten policemen, politicians and chaebols, I keep watching because when they do it well, it is extraordinary.

The acting was top notch, the plot was seamless and tight, no loose ends, the atmosphere was dark and ominous. We do not know anything about any of the characters with the exception of two main ones. The rest are there, just like shadows used to populate the main pair's background. And their relationship goes on a rollercoaster ride in these 8 episodes! That is actually the most interesting part of the drama: the older policeman recognizes himself in the younger one.

The drama ended on a cliffhanger since there is a second part: which means a 16 ep drama had been split into two parts. What are those americans doing to k dramas?

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